Extract from Jared Coseglia’s article “Ten Predictions for the Legal Job Market in 2026”
The legal job market is finally being impacted meaningfully by AI. After three years of carefully monitoring the behavior of the legal ecosystem, here’s what to anticipate for legal professionals looking to hire or be hired in 2026.
Legal pros with AI skills will see disproportionately higher raises. Competition is increasing for AI-enabled legal talent in nearly every area of the law. In late 2025 and early 2026, TruLegal tracked the largest average increase (a whopping 14%) in base compensation adjustments for legal professionals who are AI-enabled—meaning an employee is leveraging some form of AI technology daily in their current position or a lawyer is specializing in AI law/governance. Employers have invested in existing staff, and those who have successfully AI-upskilled during the past several years are being rewarded. Expect the job market to catch up quickly as employers with AI-enabled expectations from new hires ratchet up compensation offerings to attract those same people who just received meaningful raises.
AI-enabled legal talent will command a premium in compensation at the point-of-hire. In legal, employers almost always purchase technology before hiring or training staff to wield it. For several years, large segments of the legal community have been considering investments in AI technology. In 2026, those considerations become purchases expected to show utilization and return on investment. Employers in legal have always been willing to pay a premium in compensation for talent that is plug-and-play with tool-specific consultative chops. The AI revolution is no exception. As legal AI tool proliferation broadens in adoption but narrows in logo dominance, lawyers and legal support staff who develop mastery of popular AI tools will command higher wages.
